Honolulu Ocean Safety looking for new lifeguard recruits
Honolulu Ocean Safety is looking for its next set of beach lifeguard recruits, with registration to be held in December, followed by tryouts in January at Ala Moana Beach Park.
Registration will be held at 8 to 10 a.m. on Dec. 17 and 18 behind Lifeguard Tower 1B at Ala Moana Beach Park.
Interested candidates must be at least 18 years old and have a current valid driver’s license, high school diploma or GED, proof of completion of an American Red Cross or YMCA Lifeguard Training Class, a basic first aid class, and the American Red Cross CPR for the Professional Rescuer Class or the American Heart Association BLS Healthcare Provider Class. Current or expired CPR/First Aid cards will be accepted.
Only those with all the required documents will be able to register and go on to the physical tryouts, to be held at 8 a.m. on Jan. 7 and 8 behind Lifeguard Tower 1B at Ala Moana.
The positions are part-time and on-call contracts. Starting pay is $22.49 an hour.
“This is a great time to consider Ocean Safety as a career,” said Chief John Titchen in a news release. “Our water men and water women are among the very best near shore ocean rescuers on the planet, and we are poised for growth at Ocean Safety with tremendous support from this administration. You cannot put a price on the satisfaction of knowing the work you do every day keeps our community safe on our beaches.”
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At the last Ocean Safety tryout earlier this year, more than 150 interested candidates went through the physical test, considered among the most demanding anywhere in the world. It includes a 1,000-yard run and 1,000 yard swim under 25 minutes, a 400-yard rescue board paddle under four minutes, and run-swim-run of 100-yards each under three minutes.
More than 75 qualified, and Ocean Safety received funding to recruit 15 lifeguards who have been working on Oahu’s south shore, windward and leeward coasts. This time, Ocean Safety hopes to hire as many as 25 new lifeguards to start next spring.
In mid-September, Ocean Safety warned there could be temporary or intermittent closures of lifeguard towers around Oahu due to a shortage of staffing due to the increased demands of a new “dawn to dusk” mandate.
